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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1437

The Mysterious Box

19032 minFrance

Synopsis

A magician places an impossibly shallow box across two chairs and invites a woman inside. The demonstration becomes stranger as more people enter a container that should not hold any of them.

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Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs: 2:11
Subtitles: No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Georges Méliès · Public domain

DirectorsGeorges Méliès

Behind the scenes

Méliès uses multiple exposures and substitutions to extend a familiar stage illusion. The visible supports encourage the audience to judge a space whose capacity the film repeatedly defies.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 16, 2026.

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